Bell Rock Hike in Sedona

I worked really hard to gather all the branches and rocks to set this up, so it’s going to be really disappointing if you say no.

JUST KIDDING! Man, you should have seen the look on your face. I got you good. But in all seriousness, how adorable is this promposal? I don’t think anyone I’ve been with would have taken the time to write out “PROM?” in found objects from the desert and then climbed to the top of a giant rock just to ask me to a high school dance.

It feels like I’ve spent all my time in Sedona lately (3/5 weekends), but I’m definitely not mad about that. My dad came to visit a few weeks ago and to celebrate a very special birthday of his, we packed up the car and hit the road for Sedona and Flagstaff. On day one we decided to check out one of four of Sedona’s famous vortexes. The vortexes are in spots where the energy of the Earth is released and you are able to feel it. Whether we felt it or not is a whole other story, but you can find evidence of it in twisted tree branches.

We chose Bell Rock for our vortex hike because it’s claimed to have the highest energy levels. This area between the Village of Oak Creek and Sedona has a lot of hiking trails and many of them are on level ground around the base of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte, like Bell Rock Pathway, the nice and easy 3.6 mile hike we did. Once you get to the opposite side of Bell Rock you have the option to actually hike/scramble up to the top of the rock. If you are able to make this steeper, sometimes difficult climb, it’s definitely worth the trip.

The further up the rock you go, the more twisty trees you’ll see along with wide views of red rock buttes and maybe even a promposal, if you’re lucky. From the far side of the trail we could also see the Chapel of the Holy Cross jutting out of the red rock. Since we were so close and it was Easter day, we decided the architectural work of art of a church was worth a visit.

Just down the road, a giant cross frame surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass windows makes up the front of this small chapel. After seeing the giant structure towering above me from the street down below, when we finally got to the top to go inside, it seemed surprisingly small, but beautiful nonetheless. Access to the church is free and the parking is fairly organized to get you as close as possible without having to hike up the hill. Once inside you can make a donation to light a candle or visit the gift shop, which happened to be closed the day we were there.

We capped the day off by rolling straight off the trail and into Cucina Rustica for a nice Italian meal. Like, we were sweaty and wearing our hiking clothes and shoes in a nice Italian restaurant. Got it? OK. We step inside the fairly empty restaurant (it was pretty early for dinner and also Easter day) and tell the host we’d like a table for two. He immediately told us the only available seating was outside, and I think we all know why. We were too much of a hot, embarrassing mess to be allowed into the dining room. Regardless, we didn’t care. It was a gorgeous night and the cozy patio had a live musician, string lights, plants, fountains and a great view of the red rocks (and an adorable table of elderly friends). The food was fantastic. My dad was happy with his veal saltimbocca while I chowed down on some delicious seafood pasta made gluten free just for me (they were very accommodating, but forewarning: the pasta was very overcooked, the seafood on the other hand, perfection). The perfect end to another successful Sedona day.

And a moment of silence for this house right next door to the Chapel and caterpillar trails: